Welcome to BigScreenBiz.com

I live in a small town that is in desperate need of a theater. As of now, everyone has to drive at least 1 hour to see a movie! I am sure that the local population will support at least one screen to start...but I need help from the ground up!! Does anyone have any good book titles or software ideas that can help me get off on the right foot? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanx!

Startup info should already be here on this site under the frequently asked questions.

Also search the forums here for "Rich Peterson's Exhibition 101" series.

[This message has been edited by Ken Layton (edited May 14, 2003).]

Ken -

I have looked for the Peterson Exhibition 101 series and used the info provided in one of the threads to locate it, but have yet to be successful.

Where is it exactly? I must be looking in the wrong place.

Hi Rhonda: there are no books. Reset your dates on these forums to "show all" and read-read-read. Take notes. There are plenty of professionals and you will get all the help you need. If you are ready to pay and need professional services say so and you'll get offers. Welcome.

---

Michael Hurley
Impresario

Reset your forum options from show topics from last ten days to "SHOW ALL TOPICS". You'll find Rich Peterson's Exhibition 101 located under the "Back Office" forum or at this link: www.bigscreenbiz.com/ubb/Forum43/HTML/000112.html

Thanks for the link. I have been reading it have some questions.

1)What do these ratios mean?
===========================================
Count tiles before the movie starts to determine the size and ratio of the theatre. If the theatre is 1.5:1 or less, you are in a good theatre. If the ratio is 1.75:1 or more, you are probably wondering why you spent your money on this theatre. If the theatre is 2:1 or 3:1 you are in what our industry calls a bowling alley or "tank town".
===========================================


2)Is TECHNICOLOR still having all these issues? My gawd, how do you cope?


Also, I just wanted to say, "WOW" this is a complex business.

Those ratios are the length of the auditorium divided by the width of the screen.

I like to specify viewing distance as the number of "picture heights" you are viewing the movie from. Standard SMPTE 196M specifies a preferred viewing distance of 2 to 4 picture heights for 35mm film. So for a screen that is 20 feet high with adjustable side masking, you would have a 20 x 48 foot "scope" image, and a 20 x 37 foot "flat" (1.85:1) image, and the "best seats in the house" would be between 40 and 80 feet from the screen. A well made 35mm film with "Film Done Right" presentation will probably look pretty good anywhere between 1 and 5 screen heights distance. Any closer than 1 screen height, and you're constantly turning your head to follow the action, and the graininess becomes noticeable. IMHO, any further than about 5 screen heights, and you might as well be watching television, although some people like the back seats for more privacy.

Large formats like 70mm permit much closer viewing for an "Immersive" experience.

---

John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Customer Technical Services
Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Eastman Kodak Company
Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Telephone: 585-477-5325 Cell: 585-781-4036 Fax: 585-722-7243
E-Mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

[This message has been edited by John Pytlak (edited May 15, 2003).]

You do want to stay away from those long, skinny "crackerbox" or "bowling alley" shaped auditoriums. They make the movie-going experience bad.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Ken Layton:
Reset your forum options from show topics from last ten days to "SHOW ALL TOPICS". You'll find Rich Peterson's Exhibition 101 located under the "Back Office" forum or at this link: www.bigscreenbiz.com/ubb/Forum43/HTML/000112.html <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanx for the link......it is a big help!
Rhondda

Thanks Ken. I tried that before, but must have been looking at the wrong forum. Found it with your url, no problem. Am printing it now for my husband to read next!

Hi Rhonda - Try going to the Frequently Asked Questions and scrolling down to show all topics. Here you will find a section titled Starting Out In The Business? Click on this title and it will give many answers that others have asked in the past. You may find some of the other topics here helpful also. It's kind of The Best Of BigScreenBiz.Com.